Beck's Petrel

A remarkably patterned quail, uncommon and difficult to spot as it runs through open grassy woodlands in dry regions of the southwest U.S. and Mexico. Male looks like he’s are wearing a black-and-white helmet; otherwise look for bold spots and streaks covering body and wings. Female is more subtly patterned with shades of brown; look for rounded, puffy head shape. Between bursts of running, often crouches motionless and becomes nearly invisible. Rarely flies unless flushed at very close range; most often seen crossing a road or trail. Male song is a rich descending whistle with unique ethereal tone like an incoming spaceship.

A massive eagle with a short but prominent crest. The adult is uniformly brown on the head, back, and chest, with a pale belly covered in brown blotches. In flight the underwings are brown. Either solitary or in pairs, it inhabits woodland, plains, and semi-desert, where it hunts for vertebrates. Martial Eagles have extremely keen eyesight and can locate prey from six kilometers away. They hunt mostly on the wing and surprise prey from above. Juvenile Martial and Crowned eagles are similar, but Martial has whitish (not buffy) underparts, unspotted flanks, and narrower bars on the tail.

Beautiful aquamarine tanager with rufous mask. Several shades of blue on body: back is darker aquamarine, underparts mostly turquoise, belly cream, and undertail cinnamon. Sexes similar. Uncommon, often alone but also in small groups and mixed species flocks foraging in canopy or mid-levels. Occurs at low to high elevations in cloud forest and edges, but most often at middle elevations. Similar to other small tanagers, but color patterns distinctive. Endemic to the Coastal Cordillera of Venezuela.